Italy jewelry output, exports seen down '08

Output and exports of jewelry from Italy, Europe's biggest producer, will fall this year owing to high gold prices and a weakening global economy, an industry expert said on Friday.

In 2007, foreign sales of export-focused Italian jewelry fell a greater than expected 6.2 percent by volume, while their value rose 4.1 percent, said Stefano de Pascale, director of Italian goldsmiths' body Federorafi.

In the first quarter of this year, jewelry exports from Veneto, one of the three main Italian jewelry manufacturing regions, fell 4.7 percent in value, indicating weakness across the sector, de Pascale told Reuters.

"There are reasons to consider 2008 as another year of suffering for the sector, of falls in output and exports," Stefano de Pascale, director of Italian goldsmiths' body Federorafi said in a telephone interview.

Italy, the world's biggest jewelry exporter and design leader, has seen output and export volumes fall in the past few years as India, China and Turkey have fought their way into key export markets by improving quality.

Italian jewelry export volume had been forecast to fall between 2.5 and 5.0 percent in 2007, according to different preliminary industry estimates.

"The decline that we saw in 2007 extends into the first quarter of this year," de Pascale said.

The jewelry sector was among those hit first and hardest by weakening consumer demand as global economic growth slows and fears about recession intensify, especially in the United States, the main jewelry market, he said.

Extreme volatility of gold prices on world markets this year has been "extremely penalizing" for jewelers, as buyers were reluctant to place orders in the hope that metal prices would stabilize, he said.

Gold prices spiked to a lifetime high of $1,030.80 per ounce on March 17 but have fallen about 14 percent since then, dragged by profit taking and falls in other commodities.

Jewelry output in Italy fell 5 percent to 207.9 tonnes in 2007, or less than 40 percent of the 1998 production peak, according to the latest report by metals consultancy GFMS Ltd.
Source: reuters

Gold shines for Italy's high-end jewellery trade

Italy's once-dominant jewellery industry will likely grow more polarised this year as prices of precious metals and stones soar, hitting mass market jewellers while high-end jewellers are confident of doing well.

Still the world's leader in design, Italian jewellery has been hit hard by surging gold prices and lost its top production ranking in fierce competition with India, China and Turkey which have lower labour costs and have improved quality.

"There is an ongoing polarisation of the market," Daniela Invernizzi, Italian representative of the industry-funded World Gold Council, told Reuters on Sunday at an international jewellery fair in Vicenza.

"The high-end is not suffering (from the high gold prices). Those who suffer most are in the "i-pod" segment of jewellery which costs between 200 euros and 1,000 euros," Invernizzi said.

Italian high-end jewellers attending the fair said they were cautiously optimistic about this year after betting on exclusive bespoke items which helped them counter the backlash of soaring gold prices and boost sales in 2007.

"2007 was a very good year because of our strategy of focusing on the very high segment of the market," said Filippo Picchiotti, chairman of the family-run Picchiotti, makers of bespoke diamond jewellery with price tags of up to $1.5 million.

Picchiotti said he hoped his company would repeat this year a 10-15 percent rise in sales it had last year. Picchiotti, as did many other high-end jewellers, managed to pass on rising costs to consumers who effortlessly splash out on big ticket items.

But the spending appetite of middle class consumers has been moderate recently with choices shown often in favour of a new mobile phone or a holiday trip rather than jewellery, hitting particularly hard mass market goldsmiths.

"I think this segment will die out eventually," said Paladino Orlandini, designer of exclusive gold jeweller Atelier Orlando Orlandini.

WGC's Invernizzi disagreed, saying Italian manufacturers of machine-made gold chains can still stay ahead of competition thanks to new technologies allowing them to make lighter weight pieces with sophisticated designs.

 

DIFFICULT U.S MARKET

Mass market consumer sentiment on the key U.S. market soured in the second half of 2007 as the mortgage market crisis and strong euro, versus the dollar, restrained buying power, jewellers at the Vicenza fair said.

Italian jewellery sales in the United States fell 7.5 percent to 486 million euros ($718.1 million) in the first nine months of 2007, accounting for a 14.6 percent share of total Italian jewellery exports in the period -- a far cry from 25 percent a few years ago.

But top end jewellers said their clients have not been put off by credit market woes or strong gold prices.

"We sold less items there, but of a higher price," said Picchiotti, adding his group's sales in the U.S. market were stable last year.

Designer Roberto Coin, who sells in Northern America a lion's share of his exclusive diamond-rich jewellery, said sales to one U.S department store jumped 50 percent last year, with items priced at $20,000-40,000 selling especially well.
Source: guardian

Jewelry a la Mod (Milano)

While women are naturally drawn to anything that sparkles, it is discernment and a penchant for class that lead the few to the vaults of true jewelry masters.

Discreetly located at the ground floor of Gateway Mall is Mod Milano, a jewelry shop popular among socialites and the well–heeled.

A visit to the store instantly puts clients on the front seat of jewelry trends straight from the jewelry capital of Vicenza in Italy such as … chokers woven from delicate gold mesh, colored rings and earrings that "blossom" with blue and yellow sapphires, Bohemian and layered necklaces, chains of blue polished gold aglitter with tiny diamonds.

The company itself is known in the international market for its modern styles and designs which they change every three months. Anything beyond that is shipped back to Italy, melted and re–modeled.

One might perceive this as an extravagance, but loyal patrons see it as a mark of exclusivity.

"Our company mainly specializes in settings for any kind of stones — diamonds, ruby, emerald, turquoise, etc. Since we are a manufacturer, we carry limitless designs (but) even if you pay a million dollar more for a particular design that’s already been sold, we won’t repeat it again," said owner Sinan Batur.

Batur hails from Turkey where his uncle was a jewelry retailer at the Grand Bazaar, one of the largest covered markets in the world that houses thousands of shops and firms.

At 11, he worked as a jewelry cleaner at his uncle’s shop, an experience which opened his eyes to the rich opportunities in this thriving business.

He later studied gemology in Belgium while he worked as a salesman at the local jewelry shop. Soon, he established his own company that bridged ancient Turkish designs and techniques to modern trends and technological advancements.

According to the Turkish businessman, the vibrant culture of Italy offers a steady supply of inspiration for him and his team of artisans who conceive and execute thousands of designs at its headquarters in the northern city of Napoli.

All items under the Mod Milano banner are meticulously chosen from the best European gold and silversmiths by a team of experts armed with knowledge and proficiency in jewelry–making.

Although the Philippines is one of the biggest miners of gold in the world, Batur only purchases his gold from the Central Bank of Italy. His South Sea pearls, a special component in some of his collections, come from Tahiti and Australia.

It was only 10 years ago when Batur first entered the Asian market in 1996 with Singapore as his Asian business hub.

After carefully studying the market for a few years, Batur set up a store in the Philippines where he met his wife Liezel Ferrer–Batur who now manages the shop in Gateway.

Outside the Philippines, jewelry collectors may obtain a Mod Milano piece from its retail outlets and specialty shops in Japan, Singapore, U.S., Germany, Dubai, Belgium and Vietnam.

Given the huge and varied market of Mod Milano, the odds of purchasing the same jewelry from two different countries is very unlikely as no two designs are alike.

Couples looking for a pair of wedding rings at Mod Milano should look elsewhere — the store doesn’t carry any.

"We often come across clients who ask for a pair of (wedding) rings. How can you have a pair when one is male and the other one is female? I have never seen, in any other culture or country, a man who wants a wedding ring like his wife’s. It’s only here in the Philippines ," observed Batur.

However, would–be brides can order a custom–made tiara according to their specifications — that is, if they are willing to wait at least a month and dig deeper in their pockets.

"You can’t display a tiara in the store because brides don’t exactly have the same shape of the head. Those things are very personal. But if there’s a demand, we can have it made. It will depend on what they want and how much they want to spend — which can run from hundreds of thousands to a million," Batur said.

A finely crafted white gold ring studded with diamonds will set you back by P50,000 to P70,000 — the "cheapest" item in the store which carries unusual and colored gemstones, gem carvings, and fancy colored diamonds mounted on sensually shaped gold base.

The most expensive is a necklace with tourmaline, diamonds, sapphire, ruby and emeralds. The price tag? Two million pesos!

And in case you’re in doubt, each item with diamonds comes with a G.I.A. certificate and an International Guarantee Certificate which can be used for insurance and appraisal purposes… truly one-of-a-kind.
Source: mb